Stock Market Live July 17: S&P 500 (VOO) Floats Higher on Positive Earnings Reports, No Tariffs News
Key Points
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The stock market begins mildly on Thursday with no bad economic news, and plenty of positive earnings reports.
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Industrials giant GE Aerospace just reported a substantial earnings beat, and insurer Travelers’ profits were nearly twice what Wall Street forecast.
Live Updates
More Job Cuts at Amazon
In an exclusive report, Reuters is reporting that Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN | AMZN Price Prediction) has “made the difficult business decision to eliminate some roles across particular teams in AWS.”
Details are still firming up, it’s unknown how many jobs total were terminated, and Amazon management is refusing to say — but “at least hundreds of people were let go,” according to Reuters.
Amazon stock is up 0.3% today, and the Voo is now up 0.5%.
United's Ups and Downs
In commentary post its earnings report, United Airlines is telling investors to expect a decline in revenue per average seat mile in Q3, followed by an increase in Q4. Demand for air travel has “inflected higher” in recent weeks, according to management, so the broader trend is good.
Gains in the stock have moderated, and United shares are now up only 4.1%. But the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is holding steady with a 0.3% gain.
United Flying High
In other earnings news, United Airlines (Nasdaq: UAL) reported Q2 EPS of $3.87, $0.06 more than analysts predicted, sending the shares up more than 6% in early trading. United’s revenue, however, was below forecast at $15.2 billion, and the company’s guidance for 2025 earnings looks iffy, ranging from $9 to $11, which is below the $10.16 consensus target at the midpoint.
The Voo is now up 0.3%.
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.
You’re not going to believe this, but as Thursday dawns, we have… no news of new tariffs roiling the stock market. (But stay tuned. The day is young). For the past 24 hours, President Trump hasn’t tweeted out any new countries getting hit with tariffs, or even threats of same.
Nor is there any inflation news today (after two straight days of encouraging BLS reports).
Could it be we’re in for a quiet day on the stock market? It might seem so, with the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) trading up a tranquil 0.2% premarket. Except for one thing…
Earnings
Earnings season is in full swing today, and multiple S&P 500 component companies are reporting Q2 financial results:
Janitorial supply company Cintas (Nasdaq: CTAS) reported $1.09 per share in earnings this morning, beating the analyst forecast by $0.02, and beating on revenues as well.
Insurance company Travelers (NYSE: TRV) reported $6.51 per share in Q2 profit, nearly twice the $3.60 analysts had forecast.
Airplane engine-maker GE Aerospace (NYSE: GE) said it earned $1.66 in the second quarter, well ahead of the $1.40 expected.
Soda and snacks giant PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) reported a $2.12 per share profit, $0.09 better than expected.
Among non-S&P 500 companies (because it’s not a US company), semiconductors giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE: TSM) earned $2.47 per share in the quarter, beating analyst forecasts for $2.36. Sales of $30.1 billion edged out expectations for $29.9 billion.
Analyst Calls
Finally, let’s end (for now — updates will follow) with some good news for the transportation sector. S&P 500 component company CSX (NYSE: CSX) won an upgrade to buy from Bank of America Securities today. Analyst Ken Hoexter cites “increased potential for M&A discussions to drive valuation interest in US railroads higher,” and hangs a $42 price target on CSX.
Joel South covers large-cap stocks, dividend investing, and major market trends, with a focus on earnings analysis, valuation, and turning complex data into actionable insights for investors.
He brings more than 15 years of experience as an investor and financial journalist, including 12 years at The Motley Fool, where he served as an investment analyst, Bureau Chief, and later led the Fool.com investing news desk. He has also co-hosted an investing podcast and appeared across TV and radio discussing market trends.
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